How To Use A Planner Effectively & Be Super Productive

Planners help us keep our sh*t together. Even if you’re a pretty organized and focused person, keeping track of everything in your head is unreliable and honestly exhausting. There’s no reason to try to remember everything!

Keeping a planner can help you just manage your life way better. Even with the rise of the internet, AI, and other digital platforms, people STILL flock to aesthetic paper planners. Why??? Because they just work! 

Whether you’re trying to be more mindful of your time and track your daily routines or you’re trying to reach long-term goals and level up your career, a planner will help you get there. 

So, today, we’re sharing some of the best ways to maximize your planners and stay on top of everything! Here’s how to use a planner effectively:

How To Use A Planner Effectively & Be Super Productive

Find the right planner for you, it’s not one-size fits all. 

Planners are not one size-fits-all. Every planner on the market has a different focus and format that’ll make it good or bad for you.

Like, if you’re looking for a monthly spread just to keep track of important dates, the Blue Sky Monthly Planner might be best for you. But, if you need to break down your routines by hour, Happy Planner’s Daily/Weekly Planner might be a better fit. 

And, maybe it’s not about the format, but the focus. Like Silk & Sonder, planners are all about self-care, whereas Moleskine Pro Planners are all about professional development. The point is, you need a planner that fits YOU!

So, shop around. But, honestly, if you want THE BEST planner out there for accomplishing any goals? It’s definitely the HOT MINUTE PLANNER. It has a space for everything and the format is super flexible to fit your vibe and journaling style. 

There’s a spot for everything, it’s intuitively designed to actually be functional, and it comes with a bunch of adorable stickers. Oh, and you won’t mind carrying it everywhere you go because it’s just the right size, a gorgeous pink color, and just downright sexy. 

If all that wasn’t enough, you can start the HOT MINUTE PLANNER at any time. It’s dateless and flexible! How flexible??? You can make the HOT MINUTE PLANNER a daily, weekly, or monthly planner. There’s no other planner out there that’s this versatile, guys, 

“Plan” when to use your planner.

Using a planner won’t come naturally at first. Instead, you need to set aside a specific time to do your weekly, monthly, and daily planning! 

We recommend starting your day with your planner, so you’ve got a game plan for the next 24 hours to totally maximize your time and conquer all your important tasks. However, if you’re not an early bird, you could do this before bed, too. 

Brainstorm how to use planner “extras” strategically.

Almost every type of planner has free space and extras. Like, the HOT MINUTE PLANNER has a skincare routine box, a gratitude journaling area, a notes section, and lots more! 

You need to consider the areas of life where you want to be more organized or intentional, and work that into your planner. It could be everything from a weekly grocery shopping list to a daily mood tracker. If you need it, add it! That’s what the extras and free space is for! 

Simplify and start with low expectations! 

Though you want your planner to organize as much as possible, don’t overdo it and start micromanaging yourself. Start really simple while making this a habit.

Plan your daily time blocks, write down all your due dates, and then choose maybe one other thing. You can do more with your planner once you make a habit of using your planner every day all day. 

Stay organized with color coding. 

Who doesn’t love some aesthetic color-coding? Keeping everything organized by color isn’t only fun, but it actually will help you remember what you wrote down. Seriously, studies prove that color-coding helps with memory!

Anyway, treat yourself to some colored pens or highlighters to elevate your planner game and actually stay on track. 

Keep your planner handy at all times. 

Even though color-coding will help you remember what you wrote in your planner, you’re not going to retain everything. Plus, you need to reference your planner regularly to add new info, change plans, and check due dates. 

So, you need to keep your planner with you at all times. Luckily, the HOT MINUTE PLANNER is the perfect size to be functional and also portable. Keep it in your purse, backpack, or cute matching tote bag.  

Pair it with a digital calendar or planner too. 

Paper planners are great, but so are cell phone notifications and quick notes, right? We think it’s best to pair a paper planner with a digital planner like iCal. 

You can put in your app specific days and times for events as they come up for big picture scheduling (like your bestie’s birthday party in three months). Meanwhile, your paper planner works way better for daily to-dos and routine building. 

Remember that it’ll take a while to make it a habit. 

Understand some days are going to be better than others. That’s always how it is when you are building new habits! Don’t sweat it if you have a few bad days (or even a bad month.) 

That’s another reason we recommend the HOT MINUTE PLANNER. Since it’s dateless, if you miss a day, you don’t have to skip a bunch of pages (and waste them). Instead, you just can always pick up right where you left off. Genius. 

Enjoy the process don’t give up! 

Remember, this is supposed to be useful AND fun. Enjoy it, don’t set your expectations too high, and keep going even if it’s hard at first. Eventually, you’ll value your morning planning sesh just as much as your morning coffee. 

Start planning effectively using our fave planner hacks! 

Even if the year has already started, it’s not too late to get planning. For better organization, self-care, and productivity, we highly recommend getting a paper planner. And, of course, we think the best choice is the HOT MINUTE PLANNER. 

Once you fall in love with this sexy pink planner, you can design the rest of your office and skincare vanity to match its vibe for the ultimate girl boss aesthetic. Before you know it, you and your planner will be basically unstoppable. Look out goals . . . here you come!